The IM of a Lifetime
by DBZgirl4life
Summary: Taylor spills that Gabriella has feelings for Troy and vise versa. Troy denies them to save him from humiliation. Gabriella thinks he doesnt like her and that he loves Sharpay. How will Troy get himself out of this mess? Troyella. Better than it sounds!


Disclaimer: I only own the story and the plot.

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Troy: SingingBaller10

Gabriella: FreakyMathGirl

Chad: BasketballisLIFE

Taylor: GeniusScientist

This takes place during summer vacation

Okay, here's the conversation:

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_**Gabriella's POV:**_

I was eating my dinner at my desk when I heard a little ding and an alert window popped up saying:

SingingBaller10 has just signed on.

I smiled and decided to talk to Troy.

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FreakyMathGirl: Hey Troy!

SingingBaller10: Hey Gabriella, what's up?

FreakyMathGirl: Nothing much, just eating pizza and thinking. You?

SingingBaller10: Just chillen. Whatcha thinking about?

_'Oh nothing, just YOU!' _I thought.

FreakyMathGirl: Just stuff...

End Gabriella POV.

_**Troy's POV:**_

SingingBaller10: Stuff like...?

_FreakyMathGirl is typing..._

End Troy's POV.

_**Gabriella's POV:**_

DING! BasketballisLIFE has just signed on.

_'Oh yes, saved by the bell..literally. Now I don't have to tell Troy that I was thinking about him and I really really like him!' _I thought outloud.

BasketballisLIFE has entered the chat room.

SingingBaller10: hey Chad what's up?

BasketballisLIFE: hey Troy, Gabi. nothin' much. just got back from my date with Tay and let me just say.. it was wonderful (:

FreakyMathGirl: Hey Chad! That's good. I'm sure Tay will tell me all about it on the phone later. But don't worry, I wont tease you about it.

BasketballisLIFE: okay, good.

DING! GeniusScientist has just signed on.

GeniusScientist has entered the chat room.

FreakyMathGirl: Hey Tay! How's it going?

GeniusScientist: Hey Gabster, it's pretty good, how are you?

FreakyMathGirl: It's good here, too.

BasketballisLIFE: _(blushes)_ Hey Tay!

GeniusScientist: (giggles) Hey baby, how are you?

SingingBaller10: Guys, get a room! lol

BasketballisLIFE: Shut up dude! lol

SingingBaller10: So Gabi, back to what I was saying before... what were you thinking about?

_'uhh, I thought he forgot about it..' I thought. I decided to call Tay and tell her what we were talking about and see what I should do. But I was too late. She had already answered for me and boy was I surprised at what she said.. _

GeniusScientist: uhh Troy its **so** obvious, she was probably thinking of you! and still is!

FreakyMathGirl: TAYLOR!

BasketballisLIFE: uh oh someone's in troubbbblee!

GeniusScientist: oh come on Gabi, everyone knows you practically love Troy! Why deny it! Even to him! We all know he likes you too and you should both stop being oblivious and just go out!

SingingBaller: That's not true Taylor.. Gabriella would've told me. She dosen't like me. And I don't like her.

END GABRIELLA POV.

Troy sat in his room. Wishing he could take back what he had just said. But he knew that if he typed something else to cover up for that mistake, then they wouldn't believe it.

_Gabriella felt her heart crush._

GeniusScientist: Think and feel what you want Troy.

GeniusScientist has signed off.

BasketballisLIFE has signed off.

_'oh great, now im left with Troy..' Gabriella thought._

SWOOSH! SingingBaller is away.

_'Oh no! Now he must hate me for liking him! I can't believe I thought I had a chance with him!' she thought again._

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Gabriella clicked on Troy's screen name on her buddylist. She then clicked the little 'info' button so she could read his away message. She then realized that Troy had been liking someone too, because his whole profile was a bunch of poems and quotes about this one girl. She decided that they weren't about her and that she would never have a chance with him. She closed the box, went away and flopped down on her bed. She then began to cry; sad tears and angry tears. _'Why did Taylor have to do that?' and 'Why did I ever think I had a chance with "Troy Bolton: Basketball Boy" anyway?' 'This is all my fault, I never should've believed dreams could come true.' _Were all the thoughts going through her head. That is, until she heard a faint knocking sound coming from her balcony window. She thought it was nothing, but went over to it anyway. Little did she know that Troy was there and that he had something very important to say to her.

Gabriella opened the curtain that was hung over her double french doors. When she pulled it aside, she gasped. Someone was standing at her door. It was **Troy. **_'Probably here to tell me to stop trying and find someone else'_ she thought. But Troy wasn't here to crush her dreams. He was here to make all her tears go away and her dreams to become realities. He was there to love her the way she loved him.

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Gabriella felt ashamed at this point. She had a tear-stained face and was in pajamas. (it was 10:30 you know) But she didn't want Troy to stay outside in the dark so she invited him in. She sat on her bed, waiting to hear what he had to say. He began slowly but wonderfully.

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From this point forward, I would like to tell you that the writing below wasn't by me. I copied it from someone else's story and just changed bits and pieces of it to work here. I don't remember the name of the person who wrote this, otherwise I would put it here telling everyone its their full credit. If the person that I took it from is reading this, I want to say thank you for writing such a great part in your story and I hope it is okay that I used some of your story. Now on to it!

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"Gabriella?" He said softly.

Gabriella didn't turn to look, she already knew what he was going to say to her. She felt her stomach churn, knowing she couldn't run away this time. Part of her wished Troy would just leave and abandon her so she wouldn't have to face him. After what she'd seen, Gabriella wasn't sure how much more heart-ache she could handle in one night. Forcing her tears to stay hidden, she took a deep breath and spoke shakily.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she continued to stare into the night.

Troy took a step closer. "I came for you… I uh, um… I wanted to talk."

Gabriella shook her head and closed her eyes. "Save it, I don't want to hear anything you've got to say."

Troy felt a small pang at this remark and took another step so that he was right behind her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. He placed a consoling hand on her shoulder, silently begging her to explain what was going on.

"Gabriella, look at me." He asked pleadingly.

"No." Gabriella said firmly.

"Please." Troy said with more urgency.

"No!" Gabriella exclaimed as she pushed his hand off her and moved away. Troy merely followed like a lost puppy, anxious to get her to talk to him.

"What's going on?" Troy asked, trying to look at her face.

Gabriella turned the other way, not wanting to look back at him. This was already painful enough.

"What did I do?" Troy questioned as he moved to her other side, only to have her turn the other way.

"Just leave me alone!" Gabriella yelled. "Go be with Sharpay! I know it's what you want…" A sob escaped her and she cursed herself for being so weak.

This sudden outburst had quieted Troy immediately. Confusion spread through him like a virus, and he was unable to understand what Gabriella was talking about. Him and Sharpay? She had to be crazy.

"What -" Troy began, but he was cut off as Gabriella spun around and he set his eyes on her beautiful face, which now looked almost unrecognizable. Black, uneven stripes ran down her cheeks and turned her tan skin a dull ashy color. Smudges around her eyes gave away dried up tears and Troy knew she'd been crying, and he wished he'd been there to make them go away. He soon realized why she had been crying. It was because of him.

"You know what I mean, Troy." Gabriella choked out, not making eye contact with him. "I _see _the way you look at her. I mean, why wouldn't you like someone so beautiful and popular? It's what you want isn't it?" She paused. "Sharpay, _why_ Sharpay, Troy? Do you even _remember_ what she did to us?" Gabriella felt her tears threatening to fall again and she turned away from Troy, praying she could keep it together. "Why am I wasting my time on this? It doesn't even matter to you anyway. It never did. Just… go away… we're finished here." Her heart ached as she spoke those untrue words. The very last thing she wanted was for him to leave. If he walked out those doors now, Gabriella knew that what they could've had would be lost forever and she'd never get it back.

A few moments of silence passed and Gabriella felt her heart plunge to the floor, thinking Troy really had left. But that fear vanished as she felt Troy's firm but gentle hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face him. She allowed him to do so, anxious to feel his touch one last time before he walked away for good.

Troy looked her straight in the eye, determined to make what he had to say very, very clear to her. She had everything wrong… and he intended on making it crystal clear to Gabriella no matter what it took to convince her of the truth.

"Gabriella," Troy said as he wiped away a grayish tear from her face with his forefinger. "Don't think for a _second_, that you don't matter to me. You matter _so much_ that I can't even begin to explain it." His thumb pressed against her cheek, catching another tear before it could fall any further. "What you think, it isn't the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella said. It was her time to be confused.

"I don't want Sharpay, I never did and never will!" Troy said. As he saw Gabriella freeze before him, he suddenly felt a feeling so intense, so unexpected, that it sent severe shivers up his spine. Weeks before, those feelings had been uncertain, confused, and doubtful. He hadn't known what to do or how to feel or what made sense or not anymore. But whenever Gabriella was with him, he'd felt those feelings intensify to a degree he couldn't describe. Now, standing in the room with Gabriella, desperate to make everything right between them, those feelings had never been more clear.

"She asked me out once. And do you know what I did?" " Troy asked as he moved his hands down to uncross her arms from her stomach. "I pushed her away." He said softly.

Gabriella looked up at him, her brown eyes still sparkling with unshed tears that had yet to fall.

"I pushed her away," Troy began. "because that wasn't what I wanted. I don't want to be with Sharpay, Gabriella. How can you think that? Of_ course_ I remember what she tried to do to us. How could I be with someone who treated not only me, but _you_, someone I care about so much, so badly?"

Gabriella remained silent, keeping her eyes connected with Troy's as he continued speaking hastily. Her heartbeat slowed and her breathing calmed.

"Do you know what she asked me when I pushed away?" Troy said, not waiting for an answer. "She asked me what was holding me back. Until now, I never knew what exactly that was, but now I have an answer." Taking his hands off Gabriella, he backed up a few steps and gripped handfuls of his hair exasperatedly, the words coming out as soon as they developed in his mind.

"Gabriella, when I met you, something… something in me changed. I found myself thinking about you constantly, wondering what you were doing, where you were, what you were thinking about." Troy rambled. "And it drove me absolutely _crazy_ when I was with you, because you do something to me, Gabriella. You do something so powerfully to me that I can barely think of anything else. You leave me speechless. You make my mind spin in constant circles that never seem to stop moving. You catch me off guard whenever you enter a room. And now, I can't think of any place I'd rather be than standing here with you, right now…" He took a deep breath, gathering his strength for the last thing he had to say.

"This is out of my control, Gabriella." He said quietly, looking down. "I don't think we met by accident, and I don't think I can ignore fate any longer. I just… I need to know if…" He couldn't get it out. He had tried as hard as he could, and that would have to do for her. There was nothing left for him to say.

Troy's words left Gabriella shocked, completely lost for words. _Never_ in all her life had someone spoken such wonderful things to her. She felt herself shake.

Memories of the past overflowed her very thoughts, taking her back to times she'd never dreamed she would get the chance to experience. She saw herself, standing on a stage on a cold New Year's Eve night, singing like it was the most natural thing in the world to a boy she didn't know, but felt like she'd known forever. The day she had walked into a small homeroom class that morning, seeing him again after convincing herself she never would. Singing in the auditorium to a song they'd never rehearsed, with a lonely pianist they'd only just met. On the rooftop of the school, and the first time he'd taken her hand in his. On the stage once more, singing in front of half the school, mic in her hands… One boy and his tender look, trying to prove to the world he was so much more than what he chose to show. And one girl standing beside him, longing to understand what she was feeling deep inside herself that she couldn't quite seem to place.

Suddenly, in that moment, Gabriella knew. Gathering up all her courage, she slowly walked over to Troy until she was standing directly in front of him. Hesitantly, Troy looked up and saw her there, standing closer than she'd ever been to him. She wasn't smiling, but she was no longer sobbing, although one solitary tear escaped and ran down her cheek. Troy immediately lifted his hand to wipe it away and let his fingertips linger, never noticing how soft her face was.

Gabriella moved half a step closer, glancing down for a moment before setting her shaking hands on his shoulders, near his neck. Her heart was pounding like a drum and she was sure he could hear it. She forgot about Sharpay, she forgot about Taylor, she forgot about everyone who didn't matter right now and only focused on the boy standing inches away. Moving again another inch, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Why me, Troy?" She asked in a hushed tone, looking down.

Troy lifted her chin and met her eyes. Becoming very serious, he moved even closer so that there was barely any space between them. As he placed his hands on her waist, Gabriella took pleasure in his touch once more and exhaled deeply, slightly closing her eyes for a mere moment.

Troy stared intently into her eyes and took in a shaky breath. "Because you make me feel things I never thought I'd feel… things no one has ever made me feel before…" He whispered faintly. "You're the one I've been waiting for…"

Gabriella's heart fluttered back into its rightful place and her worrisome thoughts were put to rest forever. He cared. He really and truly cared; more than she ever thought he could. After all this time and all the confusion she'd had to endure, everything was clear to her. She felt a want for him burning inside, consuming every thought and conception until she finally surrendered to her long-awaited desire. Leaning forward, Gabriella did what she'd waited so long to do… Troy understood almost immediately...and their lips connected.

It was everything she'd ever hoped it would be. His lips were so soft and perfect. Every single part of him was flawless and she wouldn't change anything about him, whether it was inside or outside, even if she had the chance. Her hands wove around his neck, pulling him closer as Troy's grip on her waist loosened. Gabriella couldn't remember feeling so happy. This wasn't some fantasy - it was real… and it was happening to _her_.

Troy pulled back slowly, leaning his forehead against Gabriella's own warm one as their breaths came out quick and heavy. He'd never felt so alive, and he felt like his life had so much more meaning than just basketball. He had someone to care about… and someone to care for him.

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open and her cheeks flushed the deepest shade of red as her hands floated down his arms, knowing she needed to say what needed to be said before they were surely interrupted yet again.

"I love you." Gabriella whispered, meaning it with every bit of her being. She had finally said it. Those three little words, those eight individual letters, that one small sentence. Gabriella no longer doubted the feelings that churned inside of her, because she knew they were real.

Troy felt like he was soaring as he took her hands, lifting his head and gazing back at her. Was he really here, with the most beautiful and incredible girl he'd ever met? Was she truly saying the things he'd hoped and prayed she felt for him? How could this be reality? He wondered, but his astonishment quickly faded as he smiled, knowing that this was indeed actually happening.

"Gabi..." Troy said softly as he drew her closer. "I love you more than you can imagine. More than anything in the world. I'd give _everything_ to be with you… You don't know how long I've wanted to tell you that."

Gabriella felt her knees momentarily buckle underneath her before regaining some composure, although her legs were still weakening with each moment that passed. Circling her arms around his neck once more, she inched closer, feeling the intense longing for him again.

"You've never called me that before…" Gabriella said, smiling shyly.

"Is that ok?" Troy asked.

Gabriella forced back a giggle, loving how adorably cautious he was being and how he asked for her permission on every little thing. "It's _more_ than ok." Gabriella said as she pushed back a lock of her hair and placed her hand back around his neck. "And to avoid any more questions," Gabriella said softly. "_This _is ok too…" Leaning forward again and closing her eyes, she captured his mouth with hers. She kissed him slowly and gently, savoring every second, not wanting this night to end. The tears she had cried earlier were long gone, and all thoughts of what Taylor had said vanished from further thought. She gave a small, barely audible moan of pleasure as the kiss deepened, feeling Troy's arms locking around her waist tenderly and let herself soar right along with him, no longer thinking, but giving in to the moment and completely breaking away from the bondage that had held her down like a slave to its master… and she was free.

But there was one thing she still didn't get.

"Why did you say that you didn't like me online, then?" She asked.

"Because I was afraid of what you might think if you found out that I liked you. I didn't want you to find out the way you did but I never meant to hurt you." He managed to say.

She nodded, fully understanding. He leaned in and they shared one more sweet kiss before Troy made it clear that they were together--finally.

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Okay, so did you like this very long oneshot?

Okay, so did you like this very long oneshot? I hope no one is mad at me for using a piece of someone else's work in here. If you are please don't flame.. If you liked it leave reviews. Thanksss.


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